The Student Press Law Center announced today the creation of the Louis Ingelhart Journalism Internship at the SPLC.
Ingelhart, journalism professor emeritus at Ball State University and a former Student Press Law Center board member, died of complications from pneumonia on Sunday at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Ind. He was 86.
Ingelhart was regarded by many as the first professional advocate for the free press rights of high school and college journalists. From his years as a high school student newspaper editor in the 1930s to being a high school and college media adviser and scholar, Ingelhart was known throughout the nation as someone who cared about student journalism and the ability of students to make their publications their own. He served on the SPLC board from virtually the organization’s founding until becoming a board member emeritius in 2000.
“No one has had a bigger impact on student press freedom or the success of the SPLC than Lou,” said SPLC Executive Director Mark Goodman. “When the Center was struggling financially in the early 1980s, he was one of a small group that pledged their support and got pledges from others to keep us afloat. He knew how crucial it was to have a national advocate for student journalists in their struggles against censorship.”
“The Louis Ingelhart Journalism Internship at the Student Press Law Center is one way for us to immortalize the contribution he has made,” said Goodman.
The internship will allow a college student journalist or recent college graduate spend a semester with the Student Press Law Center gathering information about student press freedom issues and conflicts around the nation and writing about them for the Center’s Web site and magazine.
For more details about applying for the Louis Ingelhart Journalism Internship, go to the SPLC Web site internship page. To make a contribution to support the Ingelhart Internship, contact the SPLC or go to www.splc.org/give.
For more information, contact: Mark Goodman, Executive Director, (703) 807-1904.